Maybe a few of you have see the WIP in the Prototype infomtion forum.I finally completed my projet to turn a HO Spectrum Rock Island #2119 2-8-0 into Canadian National #2500 2-8-0 (N-2-b class). It took a week with an average of 8 hours of work per day.
It was first supposed to be an easy straightforward renumbering operation with no modification to the shell. Finally, with the help of Doctorwyne, it turned out to be an almost exact replica of the real thing which I quite satisfied. No commercial parts were bought for this project. Most details were done with styrene sheet, ball point pen, sprues, electric wire, brass wire and things I dug out from my junk box.
I’m quite satisfied with the paint because I tried to get the abused look tender paint have on the prototype without overdoing it and losing the glossy finish.
This is really excellent looking work… any possibility of a small “how to” as I have a 2-8-0 that I would rather have as a CN one than a CV one. I have a (non operating) CN 2-8-0 brass engine from the first VH run but as I repair it and build the steam fleet, this would be really useful!
Great job, I’m searching for a CN 2-8-0 N4a, almost impossible to find, (did see one for @$900.00) is that the reason you bashed the loco into an N2b ?
BTW, Thanks everyone, I’m happy to see you enjoyed the project. I surprised myself with the result and I look forward to bash another engine. I’ve still got a few steamers to canadianize for the layout. CNR 5702 is gonna be a challenge and I’ll take my time to get the parts before starting…
I had the chance to introduce a few people to train operation on the layout during the holidays. This locomotive was the best part of the show… You can say what you want, but when a steamer appears on a layout, the most uninterested person in the room turn into a child! Just need to repaint a few passenger coaches for the show!
I love to build things, so when I can spare a few bucks and do the job myself, I go that way. I found this 2-8-0 for about 60$ on Ebay a year ago. At the time, I read many positive review about the Spectrum 2-8-0 so it convinced me to get one for the layout since I needed a middle-sized freight engine. At this price, it was worth, even if it didn’t fit any specific prototype. In fact, I bought it then searched for a fitting CNR prototype… I was lucky on that one!
As you pointed out, I didn’t wanted to invest a few hundreds just for one engine for a club layout. The reason why I bashed it into a N-2-b was because this very engine is almost identical to the Spectrum engine. At first, I thought M-5-c was closer, but Doctorwayne encouraged me to go for the N-2-b since it was closer (the driver size was a determinant factor in my choice). I think it is a wise alternative to a brass or TLT engine…
If I wanted to be picky, I would choose a prototype that ran in eastern Canada, specifically in Quebec City Area. Call it the impossible dream! Most of these steamers were small engines, never larger than Mikados and most of the time small consolidations, 4-6-0 and 2-6-0… I don’t know any good plastic 4-6-0 to bash (Rogers prototype jsut don’t fit the bill at all). 2-6-0 is easier to do and I based my IHC bash on an old Canadian Railway Modeller issue published around 1997. But I still keeping an eye open. If I had to build an other freight steamer, it would be a Quebec Central Railway 4-6-0 with an all-weather cab…
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Excellent job. I have something like half a dozen Spectrum 2-8-0 and one of them is definately going to follow your kitbash. I’ve already downloaded your photos for reference. I’ll need a CNR steam loco for interchange and this looks perfect. I’ll even kitbash a few and letter them GER, with detail differences of course, so that I can have two classes of 2-8-0.